UNASUR Constitutive Treaty

Constitutive Treaty
Treaty establishing the Union of South American Nations
Signed May 23, 2008
Location Brasília, Brazil
Effective March 11, 2011
Condition Ratified by 12 Member States
Signatories
Parties 12
Depositary Government of Ecuador
Languages Dutch, English, Portuguese and Spanish
Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations at Wikisource

The Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations was signed on May 23, 2008 during the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Brasília, Brazil.[1] It officially established the Union of South American Nations, a supranational continental union of twelve South American nations.

Contents

Signatories

On behalf of Signed by Ratified Date of ratification
 Argentina Cristina Kirchner  Yes August 2, 2010[2]
 Bolivia Evo Morales  Yes March 11, 2009[3]
 Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva  Yes July 14, 2011[4]
 Chile Michelle Bachelet  Yes November 22, 2010[5]
 Colombia Álvaro Uribe  Yes January 28, 2011[6]
 Ecuador Rafael Correa  Yes July 15, 2009[7]
 Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo  Yes February 12, 2010[8]
 Paraguay Nicanor Duarte  Yes June 9, 2011[9]
 Peru Alan García  Yes May 11, 2010[10]
 Suriname Ronald Venetiaan  Yes November 5, 2010[11]
 Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa  Yes February 9, 2011[12]
 Venezuela Hugo Chávez  Yes March 13, 2010[13]

Ratification

The Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations came into force on March 11, 2011,[14] thirty days after the date of receipt[15] of the ninth instrument of ratification.

Treaty content

The treaty consists of 27 relatively short sections, and is the constitution of the new union. It outlines its structure and organs, and assumes that additional documents fill in the details.

Summary

The treaty declares the establishment and objects of the Union (in §§ 1-3), its organs (§§ 4-10 and 17), juridical foundation (§§ 11-13 and 22-27), and financial foundation (§ 16). It regulates the acceptance of new associate or full members and the right of cessation from the union in §§ 19, 20, 24, and 26, and the rules for adopting amendments to the treaty in § 25. Finally, §§ 14, 15, 18, and 21 declare the intent to employ dialogue among the member states, with its citizens, with third parties, and as the means for conflict resolution.

Membership

The 12 original signatories of the document have presented documentation of ratification to the Ecuadorian government. Other Latin American and Caribbean states may be admitted as associated members. An associated member may apply for and be granted full membership, but only after having been associated for at least four years, and only after five years have elapsed since the treaty came into force. This implies that no new full members outside the original twelve can be admitted before March 11, 2016.

A full or associated member state may unilaterally withdraw from the union. To do so, the state must deposit their cessation documentation in a similar manner as the ratification, and the cessation will take effect six months after the deposition. However, cessation of membership will not free states from any financial debts to the Union for unpaid membership fees or otherwise.

At the time the treaty came into force on March 11, 2011, it had been ratified by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The two other original signatories, Brazil and Paraguay, had not yet completed the ratification process by that date. As of September 2011 only Colombia had yet to deposit the instruments of ratification of the Constitutive Treaty with the Government of the Republic of Ecuador. [16]

Amendments

Any member state may suggest amendments to the constitutional treaty. In order to be adopted, an amendment must be approved by the Council of Heads of State and Government, and then ratified by at least nine member states.

Additional Protocol

On November 26, 2010, during the 2010 South American Summit, representatives introduced a democratic clause to the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. The amendment specifies measures to be taken against member-states whose political processes are not respected. The clause establishes sanctions, such as shutting down borders and the suspension of trade against the country that suffers an attempted coup.

The decision to include a democratic clause was made after the recent upheaval in Ecuador that briefly threatened the administration of President, Rafael Correa.[17] The additional protocol was signed by all member-states of UNASUR.[18]

Entering into force

On March 11, 2011, when the Constitutive Treaty entered into legal force, establishing the Union of South American Nations as an international legal personality, the Foreign Ministers of the UNASUR member states met at Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador, to celebrate the event and lay the foundation stone of the UNASUR Secretariat headquarters.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ South America nations found union BBC, accessed on May 23, 2008.
  2. ^ Argentina ratified UNASUR Constitutive Treaty Unasur. Retrieved on 2010-11-25.
  3. ^ Bolivia ratifica el tratado constitutivo de la UNASUR El Ciudadano. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  4. ^ [1] Correio do Brasil. Retrieved on 2011-07-14. (Spanish).
  5. ^ Santiago ratifico el tratado constitutivo de la unasur Yahoo! Noticias. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  6. ^ [2] El Universal. Retrieved on 2011-2-17. (Spanish).
  7. ^ Ecuador segundo país en ratificar Tratado Constitutivo de UNASUR Flacso. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  8. ^ Guyana ratificó tratado constitutivo de Unasur Como tu quieras. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  9. ^ Paraguay approved UNASUR Constitutive Treaty on 6-9-2011. (Spanish).
  10. ^ Perú ratifica Tratado Constitutivo de UNASUR Flacso. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  11. ^ Surinam ratifica el Tratado Constitutivo de Unasur El Ciudadano. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  12. ^ Entrada em vigor do Tratado Constitutivo da UNASUL Brazilian Foreign Ministry. Retrieved on 2011-02-14. (Portuguese).
  13. ^ Venezuela ratificó el Tratado Constitutivo de Unasur El Universal. Retrieved on 2010-11-25. (Spanish).
  14. ^ Entrada em vigor do Tratado Constitutivo da UNASUL ("Entry into force of the Unasur Constitutive Treaty") Ministry of External Relations of Brazil. Retrieved on 2011-02-15. (Portuguese).
  15. ^ Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations Ministry of External Relations, accessed on May 25, 2008.
  16. ^ "PARAGUAY FORMALIZED ITS ADHERENCE TO UNASUR". 2011-09-15. http://www.mmrree.gob.ec/eng/2011/bol898.asp. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
  17. ^ UNASUR Summit condemned attempt of coup d´etat in Ecuador and reasserted commitment to democratic institutions Telam. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  18. ^ Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations on Commitment to Democracy Guyana: Government Information Agency. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  19. ^ (Spanish)"Sede de Unasur llevará el nombre de Néstor Kirchner". telesur. 09-03-2011. http://www.telesurtv.net/secciones/noticias/89973-NN/sede-de-unasur-llevara-el-nombre-de-nestor-kirchner. 

External links